This invention relates to a method of identifying a component of a system, in particular, but not exclusively to a method for identifying a component of a printing apparatus, and combination of a system and a component, including an identification apparatus, in particular, but not exclusively to a combination including a printing apparatus and a printing consumable.
It is known to fit RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags to items of hardware, for example, the consumables of printers, for identification purposes. U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,664,257 and 6,099,178 disclose such a procedure, for example. These RFID tags can carry information about the items. An RFID tag contains a memory chip, a wireless interface circuit and a transmitter/transceiver. Another item, for example a printer, is fitted with a wireless interface circuit and an antenna (reader) to communicate with the tag of the item. This arrangement allows the printer to read information from the tag's memory and, optionally, write data back to the memory. In the example given, the information may be used by the printer to configure itself and optimise its operation with the consumables which are identified by their respective tags.